HOOQ Orders Six Pilots from Annual Filmmakers Guild

HOOQ has greenlit six new pilots from the top screenplays from the company’s third annual HOOQ Filmmakers Guild.

The pilot episodes are slated to stream on HOOQ’s platform in late April 2020, with the best performing title to be produced as a full HOOQ original series. Chosen from more than 1,000 entries, the winning pilots include The Minorities (Singapore), Carpioman (Philippines), Dead End High (Philippines), Laughter is All We Have (Singapore), Scholar (Thailand) and Progress (Singapore).

For this year’s HOOQ Filmmakers Guild, the company upped the number of winning pilots from five to six and increased the investment for the development of each pilot episode to $40,000 from $30,000. Judges for the program are Indonesian screenwriter and director Mouly Surya, Indonesian actress Adinia Wirasti, movie and TV director Antoinette Jadaone and Thai singer and actor Teerapat Sajakul. In addition to professional judging, viewership figures will also be taken into consideration and factored in before the winner is selected.

Jennifer Batty, chief content officer of HOOQ, said: “This year’s search proved to be difficult and gratifying at the same time. The quality of entries we received showed that there is a wealth of untapped stories and visionary filmmakers in the region waiting to be recognized. We’re proud and excited to be the platform where these budding talents share their voices and compelling stories with our viewers.”